A Mother or Father Thing?

Yesterday when I picked Bennett up at daycare, I noticed that he had been crying. The caregivers said they didn't know what had happened but that he was with another boy and the crying had started suddenly. They had checked him over but didn't notice anything. They did mention that Bennett kept showing them his left hand. I took a look for myself and quickly noticed teeth marks on his middle finger. It turns out that another kid bit him - the same kid who I saw bite another kid last week.

My initial reaction was, oh well, things like this will happen. The skin wasn't broken and Bennett was quickly returning to his happy self. They filled in an incident report and I felt kind of sorry for the other kid's mother. I'm sure she knows her son has a biting problem and she isn't happy about it. Hopefully the daycare workers will watch the kid more closely so it doesn't happen again.

When Jim came home from work I told him the story - I was pretty sure I knew how he would react. After reassuring me that he wasn't afraid to take on a two year old, and me reassuring him that Bennett was ok and that the daycare would be more careful, talk quickly turned to teaching Bennett how to punch the other kid's lights out - perhaps a toddler boxing course. I kid and exaggerate of course - there's no way Jim could win a fist fight with a two year old - but I found it interesting how our reactions were so different.

I was quick to shrug it off while Jim took it a bit more seriously. Do you think it's a male vs. female thing or maybe just our personalities?

Class of 2009

Today was Bennett's big day - he graduated from the Jr. PATH program at our local Children's Treatment Centre. As expected the cuteness factor was almost too much. All of the kids seemed a bit overwhelmed with all the people there but did a great job anyway. They began the ceremony by performing a tapping song and then followed that up with an inspiring version of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". After that came the graduation march and first up was Bennett.

He looked pretty confused at first but once the applause started he got into the swing of things and had to be pushed out of the way. Every time I watch the video I laugh. At the time my eyes were too filled with tears to notice my little guy hamming it up.

I can't say enough about this amazing program. Everyone single wonderful person involved is dedicated to the children. We are so grateful that Bennett was able to participate. I attribute many of the gains he has made over the last few months to the Jr. PATH program. We are also very excited about the fact that he has been invited to attend the Sr. PATH program in September. We can't wait (although summer can take its time).

A Confession and One of Those Days

I'll confess that today was a day that I've been dreading for awhile. I knew it was going to be not only hot but humid. Bennett was scheduled to go to daycare and I had little choice but to dress him in T-shirt and shorts. Unfortunately what I'm going to say will reveal how incredibly shallow I can be at times. I've been worried about today because it would be the first time that Bennett's brace would be fully visible to the world. And I was worried what other people would think - what people might say.

This afternoon I went to pick him up. As usual, he insisted on giving me a full tour of the yard. He does this everytime - always muttering excitedly and gesturing with his hands. I like to think that in his own way, he is telling me all about his day. In the centre of the yard is a large play structure with stairs leading up to a slide. Of course he eventually led me there and got in line behind the other kids (his manners impress me at times). With a heavy heart I watched the other kids grab the sides of the stairs and race up to the slide. When it was Bennett's turn I reached over to help him up however one of the caregivers leaned over and said, "Watch him do it himself." I turned back in time to see Bennett grab the sides of the stairs - with both hands - and walk up, get on his bum and slide down - all by himself. I thought my heart would burst I was so proud of my guy! In a moment all my worries about the brace melted away.

Tonight I had to run some errands. On my way home I was driving by Dairy Queen - well, actually I stopped at Dairy Queen. Shhhhh - don't tell Jim - I didn't get him anything. While waiting in line at the Drive-thru I watched a father race around with his kids playing a game of tag. And for the third time today, I felt the tears come to my eyes. Watching that little scene unfold broke my heart on a number of levels. First of all, it made me wonder whether Bennett will ever be able to run. And if he does, it makes me so sad to think that I won't be able to run with him.

So, I guess it was just one of those days. But when I go to bed tonight I know which scene I'll be replaying in my head. It will be the image of the smile on Bennett's face as he climbed those stairs and flew down that slide - all by himself....

Guitar Hero!

While Mummu was in Florida recently, she bought Bennett a flashy Cheetah Girls guitar. Needless to say it's a big hit. Watch for the big finishing move at around 10 seconds in.

I don't know who's having more fun - Jim or Bennett...

Check This Out

Turn your head sideways and check out this video! He hasn't been on the tricycle in 3 weeks and the last time he was, he could not peddle on his own - at all. He "asked" his therapist to go on the bike yesterday. Look what happened next.....

What a guy!!!

I promise to be back soon with some regular blogging and comments on all my favourite blogs. Our lives are slowly starting to return to normal.